The last of the Big 12 unbeatens goes down as Baylor falls to Texas
The Big 12 no longer has any undefeated teams. And Charlie Strong’s Texas Longhorns have a statement win.
Texas kicked a field goal with 46 seconds left to beat Baylor 35-34 on Saturday, dropping the No. 8 Bears to 6-1. Baylor took the mantle of only undefeated Big 12 team earlier in the day when West Virginia lost at Oklahoma State.
The losses by the Bears and Mountaineers leave just one team alone at the top of the conference: Oklahoma. The same Oklahoma team that lost to Houston and Ohio State before conference play began. So yes, it’s safe to say the Big 12’s hopes of making the third College Football Playoff are in need of a defibrillator.
Texas has been a wacky team in 2016, and Saturday’s game was no exception. It included a safety for holding in the end zone (a penalty on Baylor), a late touchdown on a fumble return nullified on a seemingly nonexistent forward progress call, ESPN analyst Brian Griese mistaking a fumbled handoff for being ruled an incomplete pass, Texas playing quarterback Tyrone Swoopes at running back, a bunch of big plays and Baylor quarterback Seth Russell doing his best Gale Sayers impression. Russell ran for 138 yards and a touchdown and had this hurdle.
[Check out Dr. Saturday on Tumblr for entertaining things you won’t see on the blog]
Oh, and the game took nearly 4.5 hours. It was absurd. But also fun. Unless you’re a Baylor fan.
Texas is now 4-4 and the win over Baylor quiets the discussion about Strong’s future — for now. Especially as Houston (and touted coach Tom Herman) had to come back at home vs. Central Florida to avoid a third loss in four games.
The Foreman brothers were the stars of the show for the Longhorns. Running back D’Onta Foreman ran for 250 yards while wide receiver Armanti Foreman had 142 yards receiving.
The win may be extra sweet for Texas because it comes against a team that it’s tried to mimic on offense. In an attempt to change its offensive identity, Texas went searching for an offensive coordinator familiar with Baylor’s offense. It hired Tulsa assistant coach Sterlin Gilbert, who spent the 2015 season as the offensive coordinator for Baylor protégé Philip Montgomery.
Though Baylor’s offense was a bit more prolific than Texas’ on Saturday. The Bears ran for nearly 400 yards, racking up 398 on a whopping 68 carries. It’s evident that the Texas defense still needs work, but the offense has proven capable enough to keep it in games.
The win may not be enough to decide Strong’s job status at the end of the season; after all, Texas is only .500 and can finish, at best, just 8-4. But like we said before, the game is very likely enough to decide Baylor’s CFP chances. The Bears played a porous non-conference schedule and were considered one of the weakest undefeated teams in college football. There’s little avenue for recovery barring absolute chaos.
[Visit Dr. Saturday on Facebook for stories you might have missed and chat with the writers]
Popular college football video on Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
